Fr: Phrygile petit-deuil - Incaspize petit-deuil
Ang: Mourning Sierra-Finch
All: Strauchammertangare
Esp: Yal Pechinegro
Ita: Fringuello di sierra piangente
Nd: Rouwsierragors
Sd: sorgtangara
Photographers:
Roger Ahlman
Pbase Galleries Peru and Ecuador
John Anderson
John Anderson Photo Galleries
Jean Michel Fenerole
Photos d’Oiseaux du monde
Dubi Shapiro
Dubi Shapiro Photo Galleries
William Price
PBase-tereksandpiper & Flickr William Price
Text by Nicole Bouglouan
Sources:
HANDBOOK OF THE BIRDS OF THE WORLD Vol 16 by Josep del Hoyo- Andrew Elliot-David Christie – Lynx Edicions – ISBN: 9788496553781
BIRDS OF SOUTH AMERICA – Passerines - by Robert S. Ridgely and Guy Tudor – HELM Field Guides – ISBN: 9781408113424
BIRDS OF PERU by Thomas S. Schulenberg, Douglas F. Stotz, Daniel F. Lane, John P. O’Neill, Theodore A. Parker III –Princeton University Press 2007 – ISBN: 978-0-691-13023-1
Avibase (Denis Lepage)
Arthur Grosset's Birds (Arthur Grosset)
Sistema de Información de Biodiversidad de la Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina
Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
Mourning Sierra-Finch
Rhopospina fruticeti
Passeriformes Order – Thraupidae Family
INTRODUCTION:
The Mourning Sierra-Finch is found in Peru, Bolivia, W and S Argentina and N and C Chile. Three subspecies share this large range.
It frequents valleys, plains and hillsides, and is usually found in scrub and shrubby vegetation. It can be seen from sea-level to 4,000 metres of elevation. It feeds on invertebrates and seeds, and small fruit when available. It forages in pairs or small groups, usually on the ground.
The Mourning Sierra-Finch performs aerial displays while singing at the beginning of the breeding season. The nest is a loose cup-shaped structure, built in low, dense bush.
The Mourning Sierra-Finch has very extensive range in which it is described as common. The species occurs in protected areas including National Parks and Reserves, and currently, it is not globally threatened.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BIRD:
Biometrics:
Length: 18 cm
Weight: 35-42 g
The Mourning Sierra-Finch adult male of nominate race has grey upperparts streaked on the mantle, whereas back and rump are unstreaked. Tail and upperwing are blackish, the latter with two white wingbars.
On the underparts, chin, throat and breast are blackish. The flanks are greyish with streaks on the upper flanks. The belly is whitish and the undertail-coverts are white.
The head is grey with blackish streaks on the crown. The lores are blackish.
The stout bill is orange-yellow.
The eyes are brown.
Legs and feet are dull orange.
After the breeding season when the male has fresh plumage, the upperparts are pale brownish-buff with dark streaking. The black throat and breast are washed white. On the upperwing, the lesser coverts have grey tips whereas median and greater coverts show brownish-buff edges, similar to flight-feathers and rectrices.
The adult female has brownish-grey upperparts with darker streaks, but lower back and rump are unstreaked. Tail and upperwing are brownish, the latter with two white wingbars. Greater coverts and flight-feathers show buff edges.
Below, the whitish throat is narrowly streaked. It is bordered by a blackish malar stripe and a whitish submoustachial stripe. The underparts are whitish with buffy flanks and fine streaking on breast and flanks. The belly is uniformly white. The undertail-coverts are pale buff with narrow streaks.
Bill, legs and feet are dull pinkish.
The immature male resembles female, but the face is darker, and throat and breast are blackish and broadly tipped white.
SUBSPECIES AND RANGE:
The Mourning Sierra-Finch has three subspecies.
R.f. fruticeti (described above) occurs in Chile, from Arica - Parinacota, S to Magallanes, and W Argentina (Salta S to Santa Cruz) largely in foothills of the Andes.
R.f. peruviana is found in Peru (S Cajamarca S to Puno) and W Bolivia (La Paz).
This race is smaller than nominate and the upperparts show heavier streaking. In fresh plumage, the upperparts are more rufous and the plumage is brighter overall.
R.f. coracina is found in SW Bolivia (W Oruro and Potosí) and adjacent N Chile.
This one has almost entirely blackish plumage during the breeding season.
HABITAT:
The Mourning Sierra-Finch usually frequents hillsides, valleys and plains, and more often a variety of open and semi-open arid habitats.
It is widespread and generally common in its natural habitats such as dry shrubland and cultivated regions with trees and shrubs.
This species is usually found mainly between 2,000 and 3,600 metres of elevation, but also locally down to sea-level in both Chile and Patagonia, but up to 4,300 metres in Bolivia.
CALLS AND SONGS: SOUNDS BY XENO-CANTO
The Mourning Sierra-Finch is singing beautifully during the breeding season. Perched on a branch, it sings to advertise the territory or to attract females.
The male sings from bush of while flying. The song is described as a loud, rasping, odd-sounding, mechanical and buzzy sound, preceded by a short “chip” followed by a ringing note “pik-chzzzzzééééé chwiip”.
During the flight displays, we can also hear a loud, breathy “tryyyyyh tiglgi…tryyyyy tiglgih” ending in a few gurgled notes.
The call is a distinctive, nasal, wheezy “rianh” or “shweaaa”.
But the songs may differ depending on the range. They are higher-pitched and buzzier in C Chile than in N Chile, NW Argentina, Peru and Bolivia. In N Chile and Peru, the introductory note “chip” is absent from the song.
BEHAVIOUR IN THE WILD:
The Mourning Sierra-Finch feeds on seeds, roots, small fruit and invertebrates, depending on range and food availability.
It forages actively on the ground by pecking at food items with the bill, while walking and hopping quickly.
It is usually seen in pairs or small groups, including during the breeding season. During winter, it joins mixed-species flocks.
At the beginning of the breeding season, the male sings while perched on a branch to advertise the territory and to attract females. It performs aerial displays while singing. It rises before to descend with a slow glide. It may reach up to 4 -10 metres in the air and sings while gliding downwards. Both tail and wings are spread, and the wings are held below the body level.
The species is suspected to be semi colonial, but more information is required.
The nest is a cup-shaped structure placed in low bush.
The Mourning Sierra-Finch is presumed resident, but in C Chile, the species performs altitudinal movements in winter to find food. In S Chile, it moves north to Argentina in winter. The subspecies “coracina” is sometimes observed in coastal S Peru. The species is vagrant in Falkland Islands in April/September, and also in SE Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
This species performs beautiful flight displays, rising and gliding downwards to attract a mate. It is also able to fly over long distances while migrating in winter.
REPRODUCTION OF THIS SPECIES:
The Mourning Sierra-Finch breeds in October/January in C Chile, and slightly later in Patagonia. The breeding season takes place in spring/summer in much of the range, usually between September and February.
Following courtship and aerial displays accompanied by songs, the reproduction begins.
The nest is a cup-shaped structure built low in a bush. It can be hidden or semi-exposed. The cup is made of grasses and plant fibres, making the structure loose and untidy. It is lined inside with softer material such as wool and some feathers.
Total diameter: 11-15 cm; internal diameter: 6-6,5cm; depth: 5-8 cm; height: 10-12 cm.
The female lays 2-3 pale green eggs with brown and grey markings over the entire surface.
More information is needed.
PROTECTION / THREATS / STATUS:
The Mourning Sierra-Finch is described as common throughout its extremely large range. The species occurs in several protected areas including National Parks and National Reserves in most parts of the range.
The size of the population is unknown, but it is suspected to be stable. No threats have been reported for the moment.
The Mourning Sierra-Finch is currently evaluated as Least Concern.
